The Chemical and Petroleum Engineering department at the University
of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering was established in 1910,
making it the first department for petroleum engineering in the world. Today, our department has over 40 expert faculty (tenure/tenure-stream/joint/adjunct), a
host of dedicated staff, more than 20 state-of-the-art laboratories and
learning centers, and education programs that enrich with strong
fundamentals and hands-on experience.

Chemical engineering is concerned with
processes in which matter and energy undergo change. The range of
concerns is so broad that the chemical engineering graduate is prepared
for a variety of interesting and challenging employment opportunities.

Chemical engineers with strong background
in sciences are found in management, design, operations, and research.
Chemical engineers are employed in almost all industries, including
food, polymers, chemicals, pharmaceutical, petroleum, medical,
materials, and electronics. Since solutions to energy, environmental,
and food problems must surely involve chemical changes, there will be
continued demands for chemical engineers in the future.

PITTSBURGH (July 24, 2015) … The University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering has a rich history of petroleum and coal research, including establishing the first petroleum engineering program in the world in 1910. Today, Pitt engineering faculty are building upon those decades of research by exploring new sustainable methods to convert carbon dioxide (CO
2
) into other materials.
To further his research in renewable energy catalysts, the
American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund
recently awarded a Doctoral New Investigator Award to
John A. Keith, PhD,
assistant professor and Richard King Mellon Faculty Fellow in Energy in the Swanson School's Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. The two-year, $110,000 grant, "Unraveling Heterocycle-Promoted Hydride Transfer Mechanisms for Energetically Efficient Fuel and Petrochemical Production" will enable Dr. Keith to study design principles for renewable energy catalysts that efficiently convert CO
2
into fuels and chemicals.
In particular, the funding will support Dr. Keith's computational modeling research at Pitt's
Center for Simulation and Modeling (SaM)
to better understand how molecules and materials can catalyze chemical reactions.
"Sustainable fuels research is hard because we need to discover ways to make difficult chemistry work without it being too expensive or energy-intensive," Dr. Keith explained.
According to Dr. Keith, the research program centers on understanding the role of molecules known as aromatic N-heterocycles, which earlier studies have shown can make CO
2
recycling more energetically efficient. The exact role of these molecules remains unclear, but Dr. Keith's group has identified links between these molecules and biological enzymes that catalyze natural chemical reactions efficiently.
Although the research is unlikely to lead to less CO
2
in the atmosphere in the near future, it will allow Dr. Keith's group to develop blueprints for how to make better catalysts. New investigations may also lead to the discovery of molecules that assist in other green chemical processes, such as efficient water splitting for renewable hydrogen generation or other energetically efficient routes to produce commodity chemicals in a more sustainable manner.
About the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
The Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering serves undergraduate and graduate engineering students, the University and our industry, through education, research, and participation in professional organizations and regional/national initiatives. Our commitment to the future of the chemical process industry drives the development of educational and research programs. The Department has a tradition of excellence in education and research, evidenced by recent national awards including numerous NSF CAREER Awards, a Beckman Young Investigator Award, an NIH Director's New Innovator Award, and the DOE Hydrogen Program R&D Award, among others. Active areas of research in the Department include Biological and Biomedical Systems; Energy and Sustainability; and Materials Modeling and Design. The faculty has a record of success in obtaining research funding such that the Department ranks within the top 25 U.S. ChE departments for Federal R&D spending in recent years with annual research expenditures exceeding $7 million. The vibrant research culture within the Department includes active collaboration with the adjacent University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Center for Simulation and Modeling, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, the Petersen Institute of NanoScience and Engineering and the U.S. DOE-affiliated Institute for Advanced Energy Solutions. ###
Paul Kovachpkovach@pitt.edu

We seek exceptional candidates at any level, including an endowed chair position. Successful senior candidates should have an established international research reputation; junior candidates should show strong potential to become leaders in their respective fields and to contribute to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Department has internationally recognized programs in Energy and Sustainability, Catalysis and Reaction Engineering, Materials, Multi-Scale Modeling, and Biomedical engineering and Biotechnology. Active collaborations exist with several adjacent centers, including the University of Pittsburgh Center for Simulation and Modeling, the Petersen Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering, the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory. We are seeking faculty who can contribute strategically to departmental strengths especially in catalysis, energy, and sustainability, though outstanding applicants in all areas will be considered. To apply, submit CV, names of four references, and research and teaching plans as a single PDF file to: Professor Götz Veser; Chemical Engineering Department; 940 Benedum Hall; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh, PA 15261 . Applications accepted via email only to
che@engr.pitt.edu
. In order to ensure full consideration, applications must be received by December 31, 2015.
The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer.

PITTSBURGH (July 16, 2015) …
Steven Little
, Associate Professor, CNG Faculty Fellow and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering, has been elected a Class of 2015 Fellow of the
Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
.
Founded in 1968, BMES is an interdisciplinary professional society for biomedical engineering and bioengineering. Fellow status is awarded to Society members who demonstrate exceptional achievements and experience in the field of biomedical engineering, and a record of membership and participation in the Society. Dr. Little holds eight US patents and provisional applications for patents including new methods to fabricate controlled release vehicles in a high throughput fashion; dissolvable synthetic-vasculature; novel complex delivery vehicles; and a description of the first degradable, artificial cell. He has authored/co-authored 70 articles in highly prestigious archival journals in his fields of specialization (controlled release, biomimetic materials, tissue engineering/regenerative medicine and drug delivery).
"Dr. Little's election as BMES Fellow recognizes his seminal contributions to bioengineering education and research during his academic career," noted
Harvey Borovetz
, Distinguished Professor and Former Chair of Bioengineering and the Robert L. Hardesty Professor of Surgery at Pitt, and BMES Fellow who nominated Dr. Little. "In addition to his remarkable achievements in his research, Dr. Little is a prolific classroom instructor whose courses are among the most highly rated in the Swanson School of Engineering. He is the mentor for numerous M.S. and Ph.D. candidates; his lab is a magnet for undergraduate students, with more than 40 undergraduate interns being mentored by Dr. Little to date. We are very proud to recognize Dr. Steven Little as a Class of 2015 Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society."
Dr. Little joins the ranks of several BMES Fellows at Pitt, including Dr. Borovetz;
Clifford Brubaker
, Distinguished Service Professor and Dean Emeritus of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences;
Rory Cooper
, FISA/PVA Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences;
William Federspiel
, the William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Bioengineering; Sanjeev Shroff, Distinguished Professor and the Gerald E. McGinnis Chair in Bioengineering and Professor of Medicine;
David Vorp
, Associate Dean for Research in the Swanson School of Engineering and the William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Bioengineering;
William Wagner
, Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Professor of Surgery, Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering; and
Savio L-Y. Woo
, Distinguished University Professor of Bioengineering and the Founder and Director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center (MSRC).
More About Dr. Little
Dr. Steven Little is Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Immunology, Ophthalmology and The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He is a University Honors College Faculty Fellow. Dr. Little received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2005, with his thesis winning the American Association for Advancement of Science's Excellence in Research Award. In May of 2012, Dr. Little was appointed as the 12th Chairman of the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, one of the oldest Departments of its type in the world, dating back to 1910.
In his first year on the Pitt faculty (2006), Dr. Little was appointed as a Distinguished Faculty Fellow in Engineering, the only Assistant Professor to hold this position. In 2007, he received career development awards from both the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health (K-Award). In 2008, Dr. Little was named as one of only 16 Beckman Young Investigators by the Arnold & Mabel Beckman Foundation. Dr. Little is the only individual from the University of Pittsburgh to have ever received this award. In 2009, he was presented with the Board of Visitors Award that denotes the "single most outstanding faculty member in the School of Engineering." In 2010, he received the Coulter Translational Research Award from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation. In 2011, Dr. Little was named the recipient of the Society For Biomaterials' Young Investigator Award. In 2012, Dr. Little received the University of Pittsburgh's Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award, and by winning the 2013 Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award, Dr. Little stands as the only professor in School history to receive both the teaching and research awards.
Dr. Little was also named as one of only 14 "Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars" by the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation in 2013 and also was named the recipient of the Carnegie Science Award for University Educators that year. In 2014, Dr. Little was named the winner of the Research to Prevent Blindness Innovative Ophthalmic Research Award, the recipient of a Phase II Coulter Translational Award, named one of Pittsburgh Magazine's "40 under 40," and highlighted as one of only five individuals in Pittsburgh who are "reshaping our world" by Pop City Media.
In 2015, Dr. Little was named the winner of the Carnegie Science Award for Advanced Materials, a Fast Tracker (University Leader category) by the Pittsburgh Business Times, a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the winner of the 2015 Curtis W. McGraw Award from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).
Dr. Little is also a Co-Founder of
Qrono Inc.
, which is a Pittsburgh-based start-up company that provides custom designed controlled release formulations for pharmaceutical companies, agricultural industry, and academic laboratories.
About the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
The Swanson School's Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering serves undergraduate and graduate engineering students, the University and industry, through education, research, and participation in professional organizations and regional/national initiatives. The Department maintains a tradition of excellence in education and research, evidenced by recent national awards including numerous NSF CAREER Awards, a Beckman Young Investigator Award, an NIH Director's New Innovator Award, and the DOE Hydrogen Program R&D Award, among others. Active areas of research in the Department include Biological and Biomedical Systems; Energy and Sustainability; and Materials Modeling and Design.
The faculty holds a record of success in obtaining research funding such that the Department ranks within the top 25 U.S. Chemical Engineering departments for Federal R&D spending in recent years with annual research expenditures exceeding $7 million. The vibrant research culture within the Department includes active collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Center for Simulation and Modeling, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, the Petersen Institute of NanoScience and Engineering and the U.S. DOE-affiliated Institute for Advanced Energy Solutions.
###
Paul Kovach

PITTSBURGH (June 24, 2015) … Moving closer to the possibility of "materials that compute" and wearing your computer on your sleeve, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering have designed a responsive hybrid material that is fueled by an oscillatory chemical reaction and can perform computations based on changes in the environment or movement, and potentially even respond to human vital signs. The material system is sufficiently small and flexible that it could ultimately be integrated into a fabric or introduced as an inset into a shoe.
Anna C. Balazs, PhD
, Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, and
Steven P. Levitan, PhD
, John A. Jurenko Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, integrated models for self-oscillating polymer gels and piezoelectric micro-electric-mechanical systems to devise a new reactive material system capable of performing computations without external energy inputs, amplification or computer mediation.
Their research, "
Achieving synchronization with active hybrid materials: Coupling self-oscillating gels and piezoelectric (PZ) films
," appeared online June 24, 2015 in the journal
Scientific Reports
, published by
Nature
(DOI: 10.1038/srep11577). The studies combine Dr. Balazs' research in Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) gels, a substance that oscillates in the absence of external stimuli, and Dr. Levitan's expertise in computational modeling and oscillator-based computing systems. By working with Dr. Victor V. Yashin, Research Assistant Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering and lead author on the paper, the researchers developed design rules for creating a hybrid "BZ-PZ" material.
"The BZ reaction drives the periodic oxidation and reduction of a metal catalyst that is anchored to the gel; this, in turn, makes the gel swell and shrink. We put a thin piezoelectric (PZ) cantilever over the gel so that when the PZ is bent by the oscillating gel, it generates an electric potential (voltage). Conversely, an electric potential applied to the PZ cantilever causes it to bend," said Dr. Balazs. "So, when a single BZ-PZ unit is wired to another such unit, the expansion of the oscillating BZ gel in the first unit deflects the piezoelectric cantilever, which produces an electrical voltage. The generated voltage in turn causes a deflection of the cantilever in the second unit; this deflection imposes a force on the underlying BZ gel that modifies its oscillations. The resulting "see-saw-like" oscillation permits communication and an exchange of information between the units.
Multiple BZ-PZ units can be connected in serial or parallel, allowing more complicated patterns of oscillation to be generated and stored in the system. In effect, these different oscillatory patterns form a type of "memory", allowing the material to be used for computation. Dr. Levitan adds, however, the computations would not be general purpose, but rather specific to pattern-matching and recognition, or other non-Boolean operations.
"Imagine a group of organ pipes, and each is a different chord. When you introduce a new chord, one resonates with that particular pattern," Dr. Levitan said. "Similarly, let's say you have an array of oscillators and they each have an oscillating pattern. Each set of oscillators would reflect a particular pattern. Then you introduce a new external input pattern, say from a touch or a heartbeat. The materials themselves recognize the pattern and respond accordingly, thereby performing the actual computing."
Developing so-called "materials that compute" addresses limitations inherent to the systems currently used by researchers to perform either chemical computing or oscillator-based computing. Chemical computing systems are limited by both the lack of an internal power system and the rate of diffusion as the chemical waves spread throughout the system, enabling only local coupling. Further, oscillator-based computing has not been translated into a potentially wearable material. The hybrid BZ-PZ model, which has never been proposed previously, solves these problems and points to the potential of designing synthetic material systems that are self-powered.
Drs. Balazs and Levitan note that the current BZ-PZ gel model oscillates in periods of tens of seconds, which would allow for simple non-Boolean operations or pattern recognition of patterns like human movement. The next step for Drs. Balazs and Levitan is to add an input layer for the pattern recognition, something that has been accomplished in other technologies but will be applied to self-oscillating gels and piezoelectric films for the first time.
The research is funded by a five-year
National Science FoundationIntegrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education (INSPIRE)
grant, which focuses on complex and pressing scientific problems that lie at the intersection of traditional disciplines.
###
Paul Kovach

Posted with permission of
NETL
. In a rich, productive life of research, teaching, and discovery, Dr. Irving Wender has been on a remarkable 100-year journey that took him from humble beginnings in the Bronx, NY, to atomic bomb research in secret labs of Chicago; energy research laboratories and university classrooms of Pittsburgh; and the halls of government in Washington, D.C.-all in humble pursuit of scientific advancements that continue to set high standards of excellence for the generations of scientists who follow in his footsteps.
Directing the fossil energy research work of the Pittsburgh-based Bureau of Mines, the predecessor to NETL, was just one of Wender's numerous assignments in a distinguished career. As he marks his 100th birthday on June 19, 2015, NETL proudly joins in the celebration and honors his many energy research contributions.
Wender was born on June 19, 1915, five years after the Bureau of Mines in Pittsburgh ignited a controlled explosion at its Pittsburgh Experiment Station's experimental coal mine and ushered in an new era of mine safety research that steadily evolved into fossil energy innovations. Less than two decades later, Wender embarked on a career that would eventually include a leadership role at that very same facility.
After obtaining his B.S. in chemistry from The City College of New York and an M.S. from Columbia University, Wender was drafted into the U.S. Army and found himself working on the Manhattan Project, finding ways to make radioactive iodine and ruthenium volatile and, thus, gaseous so its effects could be studied from 1944 to 1946.
After his discharge, Wender learned that the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Pittsburgh Experiment Station in Bruceton, PA-an NETL predecessor organization-was looking for researchers to work on an energy project. He wrote to Dr. Henry Storch, who headed the Station. Storch offered Wender a position researching the causes and acceleration of chemical changes that occur with the addition of catalysts-homogenous catalysis-and other organic chemistry topics. Two years after Wender reported for duty in Pittsburgh in 1946, the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act of 1944 led to the Pittsburgh Experiment Station becoming the Bruceton Energy Research Center (BERC).
Nearly 300 scientists worked at BERC's new laboratories and pilot plants, focusing on coal-hydrogenation and Fischer-Tropsch processes to help cut energy costs and eliminate the need for expensive, custom-built equipment. Wender worked on reactions that would provide insight into Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, a process first developed by German scientists to convert carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid hydrocarbons like low-sulfur diesel fuel. The United States was attempting to duplicate the process.
While working at BERC, Wender made several important marks on NETL's history. His work with organometallic intermediates-the study of chemical compounds containing at least one bond between a carbon atom of an organic compound and a metal-led researchers to discover a reaction that helped further develop Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.
A Wender-led team's organometallic breakthroughs on hydrocarbons in the laboratory attracted the praise of Linus Pauling, who founded the fields of quantum chemistry and molecular biology research. He wrote to Wender's team to congratulate them on their discoveries.
While working at BERC, Wender earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, and in 1953, he was selected by Storch to head the organic chemistry section of the lab, working with synthesis gas and dehydrogenating coal using a palladium catalyst to make hydrogen for energy use.
Wender became the first winner of the Henry H. Storch Award in 1964 for his contributions to research on the chemistry and utilization of coal. A noted leader in the conversion of coal to liquids, his unique coal chemistry research showed, among other things, that coal could be hydrogenated using metal-amine systems to produce large amounts of hydrogen gas.
Wender took the helm as director of BERC-a position he initially rejected because of his passionate dedication to research. However, he overcame that reluctance and ushered in a prolific period in the facility's research history from 1972 through 1979-a time when money was being poured into energy research because of the energy crisis.
Applied research projects for near-term results to help the nation become more energy-independent in environmentally friendly ways became the focus of BERC under Wender-priorities that remain at the forefront of NETL work in the 21st Century. Scientists strived to help energy developers use existing domestic wells more efficiently and exploit undeveloped and unconventional resources.
Under Wender's leadership, the Center flourished by cultivating contracts with academic, industrial, and government partners, as it conducted its own effective research. Researchers at BERC and its sister sites in Morgantown, WV, and Laramie, WY, gave developers access to more domestic oil. Because two-thirds of the petroleum in existing wells remained underground and difficult to recover, scientists at BERC developed fracturing and fluid injection to ease the flow of oil and recover more of it from tar sands.
Natural gas shortages during the cold winter of 1976-1977 prompted Wender's researchers to investigate ways to tap unconventional natural-gas reservoirs that could yield natural gas in large quantities. Researchers began mapping gas-bearing rock formations-like shales and tight sandstones-to help identify physical and chemical characteristics, the amount of natural gas they contained, underground fracture patterns, and other characteristics that could aid in development.
As BERC evolved into the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC), Wender recognized that reducing coal's contributions to air pollution to comply with new national standards was paramount so the nation could make use of its substantial domestic coalbeds. Under his leadership, researchers focused on fluidized bed combustion, coal gasification, integrated gasification combined cycle technology, substitute natural gas and synthetic liquid fuels made from coal, and other technologies designed to make an energy impact.
Wender's expertise was in demand in the federal government, and he eventually left PETC to tackle a series of critical assignments in Washington as special advisor to the program director of the Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy, special assistant to the Secretary of Fossil Energy, and Director of the Office of Advanced Research and Technology Development.
Wender's next challenge was in the classroom. He put his years of experience to work educating the next generation of chemists and energy researchers at the University of Pittsburgh. As a research professor with the University's Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department and as an adjunct professor in the Department of Chemistry, he challenged students to use chemical reactions to solve problems in a range of disciplines from 1981 to 1990.
Wender made outstanding contributions throughout his career, as an innovative researcher, energy leader, and dedicated educator. His work resulted in more than 200 papers, 5 edited books, and 11 patents. His work attracted a wide range of recognition. In addition to the Storch Award, he received accolades from the Secretary of Energy including one "in recognition of advancing fossil energy technology through highly innovative research on catalytic conversion of syngas to fuels and chemicals, coal liquefaction, and decisive guidance and inspirational leadership in shaping research programs in government, academia, and industry." The University of Pittsburgh's Department of Chemistry named him a Distinguished Alumni in 2002 for his impressive career and contributions.
NETL is honored to not only help Dr. Wender celebrate a milestone birthday but to also commemorate an outstanding energy research career that continues to influence a new generation of scientists and engineers. Happy birthday Dr. Wender!